Jason Collins set to make Brooklyn debut with Nets against Bulls

Nets fans will finally get to see new Jason Collins at Barclays Center Monday against the Bulls. (Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Nets and Jason Collins will be in the spotlight again when the NBA's first openly gay player makes his Brooklyn debut on Monday against the Chicago Bulls.

Collins signed a 10-day contract on Feb 23 with the Nets, with the team in the midst of a six-game road trip. Since thenOver the next seven days, Collins, 35, has received warm applause along the way.

"It's crazy, it's just crazy," Collins said of the whirlwind tour he's been on, his remarks coming following Saturday's 107-98 win in Milwaukee that gave the Nets a 4-2 record on the trip and a 28-29 mark overall.

When rumors swirled that Collins was on the verge of inking a deal with Brooklyn, it seemed like a logical place, considering Collins' friendship with Jason Kidd.

Advertisement

"Yeah, it will be a lot of fun," Collins said of his Brooklyn unveiling, which will take place on the ninth day of his 10-day contract. "I have some family and friends coming to the game so I'm looking forward to seeing them and obviously the first home game."

After his initial announcement, Collins gently tried to steer the conversation back to basketball, talking up his role as a mentor to younger players such as rookie Mason Plumlee. ("He taught Mason how to foul tonight," Kidd said on Saturday.)

Jason Collins commands media attention in every city he's played in since signing with the Nets. (Reed Saxon/AP)

But Collins has also made sure to make the most of his time under the microscope, meeting with the family of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was killed in a gay hate crime in 1998 in Wyoming at the age of 21. Collins wears No. 98 on his jersey to honor the memory of Shepard. The NBA is also donating all proceeds of his jersey on NBAStore.com — an amount so far in excess of $100,000 — to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as well as to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

Collins is confident he will receive continued support in Brooklyn.

"I've always said I'm not worried about the reaction — I think they all will support a Net," Kidd said of the home crowd. "He's been a Net before (2001-08) and I think they'll be excited to have him but the big thing is him being able to help us defensively and being the good character person that he is."

RIGHT IS WRONG: Deron Williams had an ugly welt on his right forearm following Saturday's game, the result of an elbow he absorbed in the first half...It's somewhat fitting the Nets will try to reach .500 against the Bulls, a team that gives Brooklyn fits. The Nets and Jason Collins will be in the spotlight again when the NBA's first openly gay player makes his Brooklyn debut on Monday against the Chicago Bulls.